


Glaciation

by kyungsuper



Series: Glaciationverse [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - MAMA (Music Video), Alternate Universe - Superpowers, CBX the real OT3, It's the end of the world, M/M, NaNoWriMo 2017, annoying baekhyun winning over cold minseok real fast, hold onto your pants, it's difficult to get used to teleporting, life is about to get real bumpy real fast, life is great i promise, yixing doesn't wanna be a med student
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-01-28 05:44:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12599520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyungsuper/pseuds/kyungsuper
Summary: Everyone always thinks they know what they'd do when faced with the end of the world. Minseok? He went and took a nap. But even more depressing than that is the fact that it took the hybrids two tries to stage a proper apocalypse.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello friends! I am currently taking part in NaNoWriMo (my 8th year, can you even believe it), and I have 4 works to get myself to 175,000 words in the month of November: the first I'm writing is Glaciation. It's been a bitch to plot and I'm pretty sure my outline has already been thrown out of the window, but it's FINE it's GREAT because Baekhyun and Minseok are doing whatever they want and I'm (un)surprisingly okay with this.
> 
> Also, this is an apology for being so deadass RUDE with how long it's taking me to finish my next Baekchen fic. I'm very sorry. It's next on my list after Glaciation is finished!
> 
> Check me out on NaNoWriMo [here](https://nanowrimo.org/participants/xenexianks) and add me as a buddy!

Everyone always thinks they know what they’d do when faced with (the start of) the end of the world. Minseok? He went and took a nap. After all the talk about genetic modifications had hit the news three years previously, Minseok couldn’t really say that it was a surprise to him that the so-called hybrids had risen up against their human captors - although, to be quite fair, maybe they shouldn’t have blown up the White House. That got them a lot of bad press.

He watches the news anchor repeat the scrolling headline with a somber look, flickering frames of blurred footage showing fires, explosions and unexplainable events taking place worldwide in the background of the shot and snort. Seriously, you would have thought that the Very Important People in High Places would’ve seen this coming, but no, of course not. Humans like to pretend that they have no responsibility for the things that go wrong - especially when it is their fault. Like the hybrids attacking them wasn’t in response to years of torture and experimentation.

It’s about when the news anchor is rehashing the need to stay indoors and stay safe that Minseok feels sleep calling him, so he switches off the TV and slouch through into his bedroom, collapses onto his unmade bed (oops, so _that’s_ what he forgot to do in the morning) and proceeds to drift off into a much needed nap.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NaNoWriMo update: just reached 32k tonight! I AM DETERMINED TO HIT 50K BEFORE THE 9TH! That will make it my fastest win EVER. It will happen!

There’s something to be said about how easy it is to fall back into ordinary life after an international disaster is announced: watching people go about their daily grind as if nothing has happened is surreal, even though they all know that at any moment, they could be up shit creek without a paddle. It’s not until Minseok is standing in line at his coffee shop (a half awake student before him, stumbling around like a zombie with his eyes half closed, bless him, an impatient businessman in a full suit despite the cloying heat tutting his way towards the counter behind him) that the fragility of the world dawns on the man. At any second, life as you know it can be ripped away. Scary.

 

“Good morning, welcome to- oh, it’s you.” The lanky barista behind the till drops as the zombie student picks up his drink (“caramel latte with a double shot of espresso, please. As sweet as you can make it without my teeth falling out.”) “Let me guess, a cappuccino with enough caffeine to power a small village?”

 

“One of these days, I’m going to change up my order just to confuse you all,” Minseok teases with a half smile on his face. “I’ll wait until Jongdae gets started on the coffee and say I want an iced tea or something.”

 

“Oh no, as if you could make the end of the world any more unbearable.” Sehun snarks, scanning his employee card through the till and punches in the order mechanically. “Three-fifty,” he adds, holding out his money for the cash.

 

“If you’re trying to get me to donate nearly two bucks to your tip jar, you’re sadly mistaken, Oh. Take your one seventy-five and be happy with it.”

 

Sehun scowls at the elder, shoving the coins into the till and slamming it shut with a metallic clink. “You should show me some more love, hyung. Who else will make sure your coffee is the way you like it?”

 

“You don’t even make the drinks, kid,” Jongdae calls from his position at the syrup station.

 

“And with that, gentlemen, I take my leave.” Drink successfully collected, Minseok makes his way over to an abandoned table near the sugar/stirrer/napkin station and drops into an uncomfortable wooden seat to sip on his coffee and watch the world go by. Really, out of all the days to go out and people watch, the day that his city gets pulled into the human-hybrid war is the most interesting by far. So he watches with interest as two of the aforementioned hybrids stroll into the shop with what seems like the sole intention of causing havoc, but actually turns out to be Minseok’s saving grace.

 

The first is a man who seems to be no taller than Minseok himself, his sharp eyes lined with kohl, platinum hair fluffy, slightly frazzled as though the bleach was a recent addition to his appearance. He strolls into the place with a swagger, confidence shining from his every pore, straight up to the counter and leans over it, feet almost losing grip on the tile floor as he strains to see Jongdae.

 

“Hey, dude,” Sehun scowls, swatting at the man with his fingers like he’s swatting at a fly. “You can’t be leaning over the counter like that, okay? There’s a queue for a reason.”

 

“What’s his name?” the guy asks, completely ignoring Sehun’s words and this is how Minseok knows he’s chosen the prime seat for the entertainment that’s unfolding before his very eyes. He doesn’t miss another customer (are they customers?) entering the shop and making a beeline for the first.

 

“I said ‘back off’, dude,” Sehun warns. “There are security around the corner and I’d rather not have them drag your ass out when I have customers to be serving.”

 

“Baekhyun,” the new guy calls, voice low and gruff, gravelly. He’s basically a beanpole, Minseok thinks, amused, because he’s at least four inches taller than the first (Baekhyun, is it?), his dark curly hair falling into his eyes. “Let’s not do this now.”

 

“I just want to know his name,” Baekhyun reasons, hopping off the counter as Tall Guy places a restraining hand on his shoulder.

 

“No.” The answer is immediate and flat. The irritable businessman from before glances between the three of them.

 

“I said, not now, for God’s sakes. Come _on_ , Baek,” Tall Guy insists, trying to pull the shorter away from Sehun, who looks like he’s about three seconds away from smacking him.

 

“I don’t know, I think he just needs some convincing-“

 

“Don’t you _dare_!”

 

The reprimand doesn’t come from Tall Guy, or even Sehun himself, but Irritable Businessman. He huffs and pushes Baekhyun back with a hand flat on his chest, putting his body between him and the counter.

 

“But _Joon_ -“ Baekhyun whines, pouting, allowing himself to be pushed back.

 

“Stop it. You’re embarrassing yourself.” Joon turns to Sehun. “I’m so sorry about him. Seriously. I deny that I know him most of the time. I’d just like to get my tea and go, please, you really don’t have to call security. I’ll handle him.”

 

Sehun seems like he’s having a hard time believing him, and Minseok thinks he would be the same, except Baekhyun dutifully shuts up, pout still evident on his face as he crosses his arms across his chest and leans back into Tall Guy, letting Joon the Businessman talk him out of what Minseok knows Jongdae calls a ‘Serious Situation’.

 

“I’ll tip you well as a way of saying sorry?” he offers as a last ditch attempt to smooth things over, and Minseok knows that there’s only two ways to Sehun’s heart: one through his stomach, the other through his tip jar.

 

“Dae, you wanna bring that tea over now or are you waiting for me to boil the water myself?” Sehun calls, suddenly all smiles (seriously, it’s alarming - Minseok doesn’t think he’s ever seen Sehun smile his retail smile so brightly before). Jongdae snorts unattractively, transferring the green tea into Joon’s hand, peering curiously at Baekhyun over his jacketed shoulder.

 

“You seem awfully curious to know my name,” he mentions, tone light and airy. Sehun rolls his eyes, hip-bumping his colleague out of the way as he takes his next order. The group move down, closer to where Minseok is sitting and he sips his cappuccino as he eyes them. Really, this is much more entertaining than staying at home on his day off and watching the never-ending news reports.

 

Baekhyun sends a flirty smile around Joon, who rolls his eyes in exasperation. “You seem awfully curious to know why.”

 

“Enough,” Joon reprimands firmly, following with a sigh. “I’m sorry if he gave you any trouble. We’ll just be on our way. Thank you for the tea.”

 

“You’re welcome,” there’s a smirk that Jongdae sends that looks dangerous. The air seems to crackle with electricity. “He’s no trouble.”

 

“I wish.” Tall Guy mutters under his breath, whining when he receives an elbow to the ribs from Baekhyun, who smiles sweetly. The three leave much more quietly than they entered, and Minseok turns slowly to raise an eyebrow at Jongdae, who shrugs back innocently.

 

“What?” he questions, wiping down the surface with a cloth. “You’re giving me your judgey eyes again, hyung.”

 

“Nothing!” Minseok defends, finishing his cappuccino in one final gulp. “Thanks for the coffee!” he calls as he stands, patting down the pockets in his jeans to make sure he has his wallet (it wouldn’t be the first time that Sehun had stolen it) and waves as he leaves the shop, the cool autumn breeze playing with his hair. He spots the three men not far away from him, apparently locked in what seems to be a heated discussion (more like Joon is lecturing Baekhyun for causing a scene, and Tall Guy for not stopping him, while Baekhyun protests his innocence). It’s not until they’re all halfway down the street and approaching the entrance to Minseok’s apartment building that he realises that they’ve all been followed. He turns his head slightly to take a glance behind him and spots what looks like six burly men dressed entirely in black, walking calmly and with an air of authority about them. Minseok frowns, turning forwards just in time to catch Tall Guy watching him and the men behind him. He whips around the Baekhyun and Joon in alarm, muttering something to them, and that seems to be the signal that the guys following them are waiting for.

 

The break their formation and begin to swarm around all four men, and Minseok notes with alarm that he seems to have been caught up in whatever weird shit Tall Guy, Baekhyun and Joon the businessman have been dabbling in; soon enough, weapons have been drawn and they’re surrounded, Minseok stepping backwards so that he can stay facing the approaching men, bumping shoulders with who he thinks is Baekhyun, as they’re mostly the same height.

 

“If you’d have come back with us nicely last year, this wouldn’t be happening now, Suho,” one of the figures in black speaks, no regret in his tone as he steps forward out of the surrounding circle of men. Minseok isn’t sure who he’s talking to, but Joon stiffens from his right.

 

“You have no right to take us into custody,” he calls firmly, no shake in his voice even though Minseok is pretty sure all of them can see his hands trembling as he presses them to his thighs. “We haven’t done anything wrong, we haven’t broken the rules. We’ve kept our heads down, just like you wanted. We let the others go out and do what they needed to do and we didn’t participate, not once. You can’t take us when there’s no grounds for arrest.”

 

“Hang on, sorry,” Minseok interrupts, alarm growing. “Why am _I_ being arrested? I don’t even know these guys. I work at the coffee shop, for gods sakes. It’s my day off!”

 

“Guilty by association,” the man who seems to be the leader of the attacking group throws out, waving away his words. “You’ve been watching them a little too closely, won’t you agree? Are you one of them? Or one of us?”

 

Nonplussed, Minseok turns to look at Joon (Suho?) who looks away sharply. “What is going on? Watching them closely - I was drinking my coffee? In my own shop? While the short one flirted with my friend?”

 

“Hey, I wasn’t _flirting_ with your friend, I just wanted his name!” Baekhyun protests hotly.

 

“Baek, seriously. Please shut up.”

 

“Why did you want his name?” The leader latches onto Baekhyun’s words like he is drowning and they are a lifejacket. “What is he to you?” Baekhyun chooses that now is a good time to keep his mouth shut, but a sneer decorates his lips. “What is he?” the leader tries again, taking another step, fingers inches from the shorter’s throat. There is a flash of blinding light followed by a shout and Minseok crouches, covering his eyes, blinking furiously through the pain-induced tears that clouds his vision.

 

“Don’t you touch me!” Baekhyun growls, hands held up defensively. “Don’t come _anywhere_ near me-“

 

“Baek. Hyun.” Joon hisses through clenched teeth, grabbing his wrist while Tall Guy holds his palms up to the scrambling men around them.

 

“The _fuck_ did he just do?!” Minseok demands, straightening up. As soon as he is on his feet, his arms are pinned behind his back by one of the black-clad men. He doesn’t struggle, just fights to keep himself standing as tears from the light stream down his cheeks. Damn, that stings like a bitch.

 

“I said NO POWERS, are you kidding me right now!” Joon directs as Baekhyun furiously as they are cornered, separated from each other, pulled into handcuffs.

 

“Joon, we need to-“ Tall Guy starts, except he doesn’t have a chance to finish his sentence; he is enveloped suddenly by black, shimmering smoke, dark tendrils reaching around his cuffs to separate him from the figure holding him and abruptly, there is a soft pop! and he is gone.

 

“What.” Minseok deadpans, staring at the spot where the Tall Guy was just standing. “The fuck.” Baekhyun sends a feral grin at his captor, launching himself towards Joon, which knocks the two of them into Minseok and away from the men holding them (Minseok sends a quick prayer to whatever god listening that the guns that are being shoved in their faces aren’t fired), reaching his hand - wait, how did he get himself out of the cuffs? - towards more black smoke. There’s a second where Minseok sees the ‘oh shit’ on Joon’s face before he hears another pop! and the three of them are yanked sharply to the side and then all he can see is emptiness.

 

* * *

 

The first thing Minseok thinks when he wakes up is that he’s going to throw up: there is a churning in his stomach and a headache that is blossoming along his temples. It doesn’t help that the room he is in is shrouded in darkness, and for a second, he doesn’t know whether he has woken up or whether he is still unconscious, but then there’s a flare of pale light from his right and Baekhyun’s grinning face comes into view.

 

“Good evening, Sleeping Beauty,” he greets, much too loudly considering Minseok has just woken with the world’s biggest headache. “Nice of you to join us.”

 

He winces instead of answering and Baekhyun is pulled back into his seat at the side of the bed by a hand around the back of his neck. “Settle down, Baek. You look like you’re hurting him, don’t you remember what you were like the first time you travelled with Jongin?”

 

Minseok strains to see the face that goes along with the voice and the light gets a little brighter, illuminating a little more of the room that they are in. It seems to be a bedroom, although it definitely isn’t Minseok’s own.

 

“Wait. Hang on,” he splutters, the events of the afternoon coming back to him. “Where the hell am I? What happened?”

 

Baekhyun whistles lowly, lowering his hands so that they are facing palm-up on his knees - it’s because of this that Minseok realises that yes, the man _is_ manifesting light with his hands. “Listen to his demands - but notice that he hasn’t asked _why_ he’s here,”

 

“Yes, okay Baekhyun, that’s enough for now.” Joon enters, this time dressed in a faded t-shirt that seems a size too big and some comfortable jeans instead of the suit that he wore earlier. “If you can stop with the snarky comments, I’ll be eternally grateful.” Baekhyun gives a mocking salute, the beams coming from his hands making eerie shapes along the walls and the duvet that is covering Minseok’s body.

 

“Okay, first question - how did I get here? And where _is_ ‘here’?” Minseok demands now that the more reasonable of the bunch was present. “How long have I been unconscious for? And for Gods’ sakes, please tell me who the fuck you are!”

 

Joon nods, sighing. “Well, my name is Kim Joonmyeon, I guess you can say I keep these idiots in check so the doctors called me Suho. Though we don’t like going by those names here. We brought you to our safe house, don’t worry, those men can’t get in here - it’s untraceable. You’ve only been out for a few hours, really, it’s not a big deal. Oh, and as for the ‘how’ - Jongin teleported us to safety. Turns out one of my team _was_ actually following orders and was watching our backs.” He says the last bit sharply, throwing a glare at Baekhyun, who doesn’t seem affected, and the other speaker from earlier, who shuffles in his chair guiltily.

 

Minseok nods as though it makes any fucking sense before pressing forward. “And what exactly are your powers? Obviously, this guy can do things with light -“ He gestures vaguely towards Baekhyun who grins and wiggles his fingers at him. “- And this Jongin can teleport. So what can you all do?”

 

Joonmyeon settles on the edge of the mattress. “My talent is water, which is a common enough power I guess. Yixing here is our healer,” The previously unnamed man from earlier who told off Baekhyun smiles, showing off a set of impressive dimples. “And - well. There are more of us, but I’m not sure it’s wise for you to know the rest yet. I don’t even know why I told you all of that,” he admits, looking distressed as he runs a hand through his carefully styled brown hair; a glint of gold catches in the glow of Baekhyun’s hands. “You don’t seem like the normal type of person. You don’t seem like you should be involved in all of this.’

 

Minseok snorts at the same time that Baekhyun does, and the former side eyes him. Baekhyun beats him to the punch. “He’s one of us, obviously. There’s no way a human would be so chilled out about being in a house full of hybrids. Isn’t that right, hyung?” The last bit is directed directly at Minseok, and maybe Baekhyun expects the elder to avert his eyes, shuffle anxiously or even outright deny the claim, but he does none of those. Instead, he looks each person in the eye with an eyebrow raised.

 

“I’m just mad that I’ve managed to go undetected for three damn years and all it takes is a news report and some idiots marching into my coffee shop trying to recruit my employee and suddenly, I’m a wanted man.”

 

There’s silence for a few minutes, which baekhyun grins his way through, triumphant for once in being the person to notice something important before Joonmyeon does.

 

“So I suppose I should be asking you what your power is,” Joonmyeon begins, shifting his weight a little on the mattress beside Minseok. “As I’ve already told you a little about us, I think it’s only fair.”

 

“I control frost,” Minseok explains briefly. “And the cold in general. Snow, for example. It’s mostly seasonal, my power - I always end up having awful control in the winter, but summer is almost as bad, just without some of the accidental frostbite that I always seem to give myself at Christmas.”

 

Yixing lets out a little huff of air. “Elemental powers are said to be the strongest of all of them.”

 

Joonmyeon hums in agreement. “Yes, I am inclined to agree with you there. Other than myself, there are another two who control elemental powers, though Baekhyun still insists that his is the hardest to control, and that because he has a tight control over his light, he is the best out of all of us-“

 

“You tell me how easy it is to make an illusion seem so real without breaking a sweat,” Baekhyun interrupts. “And then project it to a room full of people. Real easy, oh my god, it’s the easiest.”

 

“There’s no need to be sarcastic,” the healer - Yixing - puts in from the seat behind Baekhyun’s.

 

“They’re all difficult in their own way, I guess. I’ve obviously never had the chance to use any other type of power.” Minseok concedes and Baekhyun grins, teeth glittering from his illuminated palms. His smile is almost as bright as the light emits.

 

“But you knew that your employee is a hybrid, didn’t you?” Joonmyeon deduces shrewdly. “That’s why you hired him. You know, we felt his power during the last storm and thats the reason that we were in your shop today. I’m surprised you hadn’t recognised us, to be quite honest with you - we spent quite a few weeks popping in and out, scoping the place out. I was ready to speak to him - but no, baekhyun is too impatient for that plan to play out.”

 

The man in question shrugs. “Sometimes, a direct approach can be better than tiptoeing around. After what you’d said about him, I thought maybe he would respond to some blunt attention better than being stalked by a weirdo in an ill-fitting suit.”

 

“That suit cost me almost fifty bucks!” Joonmyeon rants, glaring. “And it was _not_ ill-fitting.”

 

Baekhyun raises a single eyebrow as if to say ‘whatever you say, hyung’ before he quietens down again. Minseok hums as he thinks their words over.

 

“Jongdae,” he begins slowly, contemplating the situation. “Is a lot more like Baekhyun than you realise. He might be fairly quiet while he’s in the shop, but he’s a chatterbox when he isn’t at the station. After those weeks that you spent trying to slowly capture his attention - did you see any response form him? No, he only noticed you when Baekhyun came in, all guns blazing. Excuse the pun.”

 

“And he’s cute,” Baekhyun pipes up, relaying the information to Yixing. “He was definitely watching me. He was curious.”

 

“He already knows about me,” Minseok adds as if the other man had said nothing. “He spilled the beans a few weeks after he was hired by our previous manager. That’s the reason that we became friends in the first place, honestly; there’s no other way that we would’ve spoken to each other, I don’t think.”

 

“Hmm,” Joonmyeon considers what has been revealed. “Maybe we should send in Baekhyun next time, then.”

 

Minseok laughs, short and sharp, barely any real humour evident. “I think it’s great how you really think there will be a ‘next time’.” Joonmyeon opens his mouth to protest, but Minseok beats him to it. “I’m going home. I think it would be best if you stay away from my shop, and I’d appreciate it if you were to stay away from Jongdae, too.”

 

Joonmyeon coughs out a little disbelieving sound, and raises an eyebrow; Baekhyun snorts from his perch at the side of the bed and the light that he controls swirls and dances along the walls.

 

“You really aren’t expecting to just _walk_ out of here without the guys from before hunting you down, are you?” he questions incredulously. “We barely got out of it before, and that’s only because Jongin was around to help. I think you should stay here for a little while, at the very least-“

 

“I have a life!” Minseok cuts in. “I have a job and an apartment and friends and bills to pay - I can’t just leave them behind, drop off the face of the planet!”

 

“You might have to,” Joonmyeon argues softly. “You’ve been compromised now. They know who you are and where you work.”

 

“They know at least a little about Jongdae, too, by the sounds of it,” Baekhyun puts in cheerfully. Minseok’s eye twitches.

 

“No thanks to you, you absolute -“

 

“I think it’s about time we let you sleep and think about what we’ve discussed,” Joonmyeon puts in swiftly when it seems like Minseok might really jump out of his bed and strangle Baekhyun or something. “It’s been an eventful day. We could _all_ do with some rest.”

 

With that, he sweeps the others away from Minseok’s bed, with the exception of Baekhyun, who refuses to move, arms folded, finger-shaped beams curling along the edges of the bed and the wall behind the headboard. Yixing looks back, concerned (possibly for Baekhyun’s life, judging by the way Minseok is looking at him), but Baekhyun waves him off.

 

Minseok just glares, waiting for him to leave as well, but the other seems immune, fingers twirling almost unconsciously and staring back at Minseok unflinchingly.

 

“Are you going to go, or…?” Minseok prompts, weighing up the pros and cons of using his powers to make the room unbearably cold.

 

“I wanted to talk to you. About Jongdae,” Baekhyun clarifies after a second of unamused staring. “Ask you a few questions, really. I mean… He _does_ know about his power, right?”

 

It was Minseok’s turn to be confused. “What the hell do you mean?”

 

“His levels of power were thorough the roof - literally,” Baekhyun explains, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the mattress next to Minseok’s thigh, face turning up to face the elder. “You only see that with people who are just discovering their abilities, or the ones who have been practicing for years and are just super good at what they do, you know?”

 

Minseok considers whether or not he should even discuss this topic, considering that it’s a pretty personal story of Jongdae’s and the latter is, quite obviously, not there to give his permission. His morals and loyalty to his friend are warring with the annoyance and curiosity that he harbours when it comes to Baekhyun.

 

Ultimately, the curiosity wins out.

 

“Jongdae is not new to his abilities,” Minseok answers slowly, choosing his words carefully. “He was experienced enough to have basic control over his power when I met him. That was three years ago, now, and he’s gotten much better considering his power covers such a wide area of control.”

 

Baekhyun nods, eyes wide even though there are purple-blue bags beneath them that betray his fatigue. “So he’s just naturally powerful, then,” he notes. “What about you? Your - frost, ice, whichever it is - how much control do you have? Your power levels seem fairly low, I mean, some people like Chanyeol just radiate power. But you don’t. You almost don’t even feel like a hybrid.”

 

Minseok’s eye twitches again, but he chooses to ignore how offensive the words come across. “I’ve been learning how to control this shit for fifteen years, come on. It’s kind of important that I don’t freeze my drinks when I’m out in public, or give my customers frostbite by accident. It’s been a lot of hard work and a damn pain in my ass, but the result is that I can pull it right in, right back, so that people like you and the guys earlier who tried to _arrest us_ don’t figure out what the fuck I am.”

 

Baekhyun is quiet for one (blessed) moment while he processes all of that. “Woah, though, that takes a lot of skill and discipline,” he breathes. “Can you teach me how to do that sometime? I still glow in my sleep every now and again and it annoys everyone,”

 

Minseok is more than slightly taken aback by his words and tone. It’s crazy how fast Baekhyun’s entire demeanour changes with only a short conversation. He’s like a puppy, Minseok muses - distracted every few minutes by something else, but not too distracted to run off.

 

“You _glow_ in your _sleep_?” Minseok repeats, raising one eyebrow. Baekhyun frowns back, shifting his shoulders defensively.

 

“It’s an unconscious action, okay?” he shoots back. “I’ve mostly managed to train myself out of it, but every now and then, Soo wakes me up with a pillow to the face. He’s not somebody that you want to wake up with accidental full-body glowing, it turns out,”

 

“Because suffocation is the best way to get you to stop being a glow worm,” Minseok adds with a nod as if he knows what the fuck he’s talking about.

 

Baekhyun nods sagely, eyes serious. “Yes. Apparently so. I wake up in a huge panic and suddenly it’s like I’m a human lightbulb and Soo is blinded and I’m yelling and he’s yelling and then _Joonmyeon_ is yelling and it’s a mess. Worst way to wake up _ever_.”

 

Minseok lets out a chuckle despite himself, and then follows it up with a yawn. Baekhyun smiles, a small soft smile that forces the edges of his eyes to crinkle up and reaches forward, patting Minseok’s thigh through the duvet.

 

“You’re tired,” he observes uselessly. “I’ll let you get some rest.”

 

Minseok watches him as he stands, moving the chair back a few feet. “Why did you stay, anyway?”

 

The soft smile grows brighter (pun not intended). “I don’t like making a bad first impression, that’s all,” he explains. “Now I know that the soft dongsaeng thing works better for you.”

 

Eyes narrowed, Minseok sits a little straighter. “What does it matter that we didn’t get off on the right foot? Plenty of people co-exist who don’t get on with each other and they have no problems with it,”

 

“We have to live together, at least for a few days. It would be uncomfortable. Plus, I don’t like people not liking me.”

 

With that, Baekhyun shoots one last smile in Minseok’s direction and leaves, closing the door after him with a soft click. Minseok sits for a few minutes more, unable to entirely process what exactly his originally ordinary day has turned into, before finally succumbing to sleep.

 

* * *

“… Fuck did you bring him back for?”

 

“We couldn’t very well just leave him there, Soo, he would’ve been _toast_!”

 

“And why does that concern you? Why does that concern any of us? It’s his own stupid decisions that lead to him getting picked up, fucking hell-“

 

“He was following us because Baek and Joon caused a scene in his coffee shop!”

 

“Hey! I resent that implication!”

 

“Shut up Baekhyun, it’s always fucking you that ends up getting everything ruined-“

 

“Am I interrupting something?” Minseok queries as he pads softly into the kitchen where there are six men, four of them Minseok remembers from being in his room the previous night, and two that he doesn’t recall meeting. Their argument had been carrying down the hallway into his borrowed bedroom for the past fifteen minutes, and he’s decided to get involved.

 

The shortest male in the room huffs angrily, throwing his hands up in the air in a classic ‘see-what-I-told-you’ pose before turning back to the stove, flipping the bacon with the tongs, shoulders set into a stiff hold. Joonmyeon grimaces apologetically before moving to help the shorter guy. Yixing smiles dazedly as he sips his tea and Baekhyun is positively bouncing with energy, easily the most awake person in the room.

 

“Nope!” he exclaims, popping the ‘p’. “We were discussing with Soo why you’re in our house; he doesn’t take very kindly to guests, because he’s an antisocial person who tries to lock his roommate out because he’s decided to go to bed at three in the morning.” A small frown is directed at the back of the man flipping the bacon.

 

“I’m sorry for intruding,” Minseok replies, raising an eyebrow. “For what it’s worth, I don’t want to be here any more than you want me to, by the looks of things. I want to get back to my shop and my friends-“

 

“-But we all already know what a disastrous decision that would be,” Joonmyeon cuts in sharply, eyes darting from Soo’s back to Minseok’s face. “Because it isn’t Minseok’s fault that he’s here with us, but it’s the safest option. For us _all_. And we all need to realise that and move on.”

 

Soo huffs again. “Do we even have enough supplies-“

 

“Stop being a stick in the mud, Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun whines. “It’s _nice_ to have somebody nice to talk to!”

 

“You’ve literally spoken to me twice.” Minseok points out. He is ignored.

 

“We need more food,” Soo - Kyungsoo - puts in, turning around to face them all; his delicate features are not a truthful representation of his hostile personality, Minseok thinks, taking in his large, innocent-looking eyes, heart-shaped lips and pale complexion. “Jongin needs backup if he’s going to go out again, especially after those guys almost got you yesterday. We don’t want a repeat of what happened last time with Chanyeol’s arm,”

 

“It healed just fine,” says Tall Guy from the previous day. Minseok is positive that he won’t remember all of the names. Not that it matters, he tells himself - he’ll only be staying a few days until Joonmyeon loses his paranoia.

 

“You lost a chunk out of your bicep.” Kyungsoo’s tone is flat, dark, not to be argued with. “Tell me it’s nothing when you’re sat on the bathroom floor trying to stop a limb from falling off and your friend from bleeding to death.”

 

“It wasn’t that bad,” Chanyeol mutters sheepishly. “And don’t make Nini feel bad about it, we only just got him to start taking me out again!”

 

Kyungsoo huffs, arms folded across his chest, before softening with a sigh as he glances at Jongin, who has stopped sipping his orange juice and is just staring at the work surface blankly.

 

“I’m sorry, Jongin,” he calls gently to the younger man. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories. I just want everyone to understand how dangerous this is.”

 

“I’ll go with him,” Minseok offers; everyone except for Baekhyun and Joonmyeon scoffs.

 

“I don’t think it would be advisable,“ the latter begins, but Baekhyun jumps in.

 

“I can go too, Joon, it’ll be just in and out. Think it through - we’ll have Nini there to get us in and out safely, Minseok can be there to grab stuff and also keep the frozen things frozen (that’s more useful than anything, shut your mouth Kyungsoo), and I can ensure that nobody sees anything weird happening. It’ll be _fine_!” His eyes are big, bright, earnest. Joonmyeon is considering his words, Minseok can tell, the frown lines popping up on his forehead evidence of it.

 

“It sounds like a good plan to me,” Yixing puts in calmly, quietly, serene smile still on his face, hand reaching out to pat Joonmyeon’s shoulder. The latter sighs again, wilting.

 

“Okay then, you three can go and get the food, I’ll keep my phone on me just in case. Minseok, you have yours with you, yes?” He’s a little taken aback for a second, but pats his pocket to double check (old habits die hard) and nods. “Excellent, we’ll swap numbers. That way, if anything _does_ happen, each of you can get in touch with us here at the house.”

 

After Minseok has unwillingly handed over his phone so that he and Joonmyeon can exchange mobile numbers, the three of them grab a few reusable shopping bags from the shoe rack (“Why are they in the shoe rack?” Minseok asks, but nobody seems to know the answer) and crowd into the pantry.

 

“It’s easier to go from here and come back through here,” Jongin explains quietly, balling up a few bags into one of the pockets on the front of his hoodie. “When we return, we’ll be carrying stuff, so we can just drop it off in here. Also, it prevents anybody from having a small heart attack-“

 

“-In case we just appear out of nowhere in front of them,” Baekhyun finishes brightly. His long fingers wiggle as they reach towards Jongin and Minseok, snaking their hands together. Jongin grabs Minseok’s other wrist so the three of them stand in a weird sort of triangle.

 

“I’ll go on three. Minseok, it would probably help if you were to hold your breath, and maybe close your eyes? I’m not really sure whether that would help or not, but I know that Joon did it to start with because he gets travel sickness easily,” Jongin warns as he rearranges his footing. “Get ready to touch down in the store and just grab whatever is on the list. Baek, you have your illusion prepared, right?”

 

“Check and double check, Nini,” Baekhyun confirms with a salute that drags Minseok’s hand unto his temple. “Oh, Min, you might do better to just stay with me so that we can get stuff together seeing as you don’t know what we usually buy. We do the fridges and frozen section, seeing as it’s easier to preserve frozen veggies and meat than fresh, even though Kyungsoo looks like he’d rather skin and eat us than serve it.”

 

Minseok nods, a little bemused, head swimming so that Baekhyun’s nickname nearly gets past him.

 

“Hey, don’t call me-“

 

“Three,” Jongin interrupts, rolling his shoulders back.

 

“Two,” Baekhyun shoots Minseok a cheeky grin as he bends his knees slightly.

 

“One.” Minseok doesn’t have any way to prepare other than to suck in a startled breath as he feels himself being pulled to the left, hard, and holds it as the world turns to black.

 

Teleporting is strange, Minseok thinks as they make their way to the supermarket. It feels like the three of them are spiralling through a plughole almost, except that it’s pitch black, there’s small pops and howls of harsh wind and they’re _fucking teleporting_. It must only take a few seconds, but it feels like minutes that Minseok has held in that single breath and then, _then_ , they’re landing on the worn tiled floor of the store.

 

There’s a strange moment of dizziness where Minseok focuses dazedly on the customers who realise that three men have literally just appeared from the air in front of them before Baekhyun closes his eyes, frowning, fingers squeezing Minseok’s and Jongin’s unconsciously before they look away, none the wiser. He slowly opens his eyes, beaming up at the two standing opposite him.

 

“Illusion in place. They’ll think we’ve walked through the door like normal people, so we’re a-okay and good to go,” he informs them, loosing his hold on the teleporter, but dragging Minseok over to the chilled goods with their fingers twined together.

 

“So we need the regular - sausages, bacon, frozen veggies, milk - think as if you’re doing your regular grocery shop except for five extra people.” Baekhyun tells him, grabbing a few items and putting them into the shopping bags that are looped at his wrist. Minseok thinks of his own fridge - maybe a carton of milk, some scallions and a few eggs, three bottles of beer and a lump of cheese - and thinks maybe he _won’t_ tell Baekhyun that he mostly eats from the Thai takeout place from the next block over.

 

“You get the frozen stuff, I’ll get chilled.” He is manhandled towards the freezers and handed another bag. “Keep them nice and cold!”

 

“I knew what you said to Kyungsoo wasn’t just a joke,” Minseok breathes before doing as he’s told and grabbing bags of peas and carrots. It takes all of about five minutes before they’re ready to pay, and they meet up with Jongin at the counter. Placing their shop onto the cover belt takes a minute or two, but then they’re being beeped through by the cashier and the two are throwing everything in haphazardly. Minseok’s eye twitches (again, Jesus Christ, at this rate the twice will be a permanent thing).

 

“I swear to God,” he snarks, bumping his way between them and snatching the bags away. “You two children don’t even know how to pack bags. Frozen and chilled in one bag, household and toiletries get their own, dry ingredients in another. Heavy stuff at the bottom, breakables at the top, Jesus Christ,” he teaches hurriedly as the cashier slides more and more of their purchases over the scanner.

 

Using this method, they manage to pack the shopping away in record time, paying and collecting change before Baekhyun motions for the two of them to stand in a somewhat neglected corner of the store, well hidden by the towering shelves. They somehow, somewhat awkwardly, manage to balance the bags between them while still linking hands. Minseok takes a cursory glance around them to make sure than nobody can see them while Baekhyun visibly focuses on crafting his illusion and Jongin counts them down in a whisper.

 

* * *

Waking up in the guest bedroom while Baekhyun and Yixing watch him anxiously is getting real old real fast, Minseok thinks as he stretches his neck with a low groan.

 

“Did I pass out again?” he slurs out, the words mushing together until they sound more like ‘did’passou’gain?’

 

Yixing smiles and places a cool hand across his forehead, checking his temperature. He hums, seemingly happy with Minseok’s state, and leans back to sit in the chair next to the bed that Baekhyun had been in the previous night as they talked; the man in question is curled up at the foot of said bed, bunching the comforter beneath his knees, eyes concerned.

 

“You did,” Yixing confirms, utterly calm. “It’s really nothing to worry about, just a reaction to Jongin’s power, that’s all; we’ve all done it at some point. Jongin wears himself out often and is prone to fainting spells, so I wouldn’t feel too put out about it if I were you. Although Baekhyun seemed worried enough to crowd into your personal space as soon as you three landed in the middle of the living room,” he adds, something akin to a sly smile gracing his face.

 

“I _was_ worried!” Baekhyun confirms breathlessly, leaning forward until his hands are perched on Minseok’s knees. The latter flinches but Baekhyun pays no attention to it. “It’s not very nice seeing someone pass out. It got really cold, too, I don’t know what happened there but for a second, it was freezing cold. Do you often have trouble concealing your power when you’re not well, Minseok?”

 

The question is innocent enough, but Minseok sucks in a breath as though the words have physically hurt him anyway.

 

“I used to wake up to ice coating everything in my room,” he responds in a low voice. “It’s harder to control when my body is out of whack, of course, just like you guys.”

 

Baekhyun reaches forward and lifts both of Minseok’s hands from where they had been clutching the duvet, linking their fingers together. It’s not until the other’s warm touch registers that Minseok even realises that he has been shaking, from the memories or the chill in the room, he doesn’t know. Possibly even both.

 

“You don’t have to worry,” Yixing assures him, smile sliding from his face. “ We all understand, all of us; there’s no need to hide it anymore. We’re as safe as we can ever be here, and we have each other to rely on. You might even be causing yourself more harm by constantly holding everything back, who knows.”

 

“S’cold,” Baekhyun murmurs, scooting closer to Minseok even though he must be freezing himself.

 

“I won’t be any warmer than the room,” Minseok warns, not able to find it within himself to ask the younger to move away as he slithers up the bed until he’s curled into his side. The places where Baekhyun is pressed to burn white hot.

 

“Don’t care, m’tired.” Baekhyun let’s one of Minseok’s hands go in favour of looping his arm across his waist, elegant fingers crinkling the cotton of his shirt as he clings to the older man. He shuts his eyes and leans his body weight on Minseok’s shoulder and sighs, content, despite the shivers starting to ripple through his body.

 

“You will care when you get hypothermia. Yixing, help?” Minseok appeals to the other man, who chuckles and hooks his arm around Baekhyun, lifting him bodily from the bed; not opening his eyes, Baekhyun lets out a dissatisfied noise and claws for Minseok like he’s a child being torn away from his favourite teddy bear, and although Minseok doesn’t know just why it hurts his heart to see Baekhyun unhappy, a pang of guilt jolts within him.

 

“Come on, Baek, let’s leave Minseok to get some rest, hmm? We’ll get you tucked in and warmed up after your eventful day. Goodnight, Minseok - call for me if you need anything.” The last part is clearly directed at him, and Minseok nods weakly, suddenly more tired than he’s been in weeks, months even, and he settles down in the bed just as Yixing closes the door behind him with a muted click.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took a few days to get out - I had to edit some things. It's SUPER MEGA WORDY, don't say I didn't warn y'all lol! 
> 
> Yes. Baekhyun is a clingy smol pupper. I love him. He's here to melt Minseok's cold heart (I wish I was joking lol if you thought that was cheesy, wait until JD gets here). 
> 
> I mean, I'm not 100% happy with it, but I had to. THE SUPERMARKET SCENE AND WHAT FOLLOWS IT - THEY'RE IMPORTANT LATER, I PROMISE!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I went to a write-in with me region today and somehow reached 60,000 words for NaNoWriMo! Happy days!
> 
> We're swinging things towards OT3 with this chapter. This makes me immensely happy.

As it turns out, Minseok is at the house with Joonmyeon and the others for six more days until they deem it safe for him to return to work, and they have found another house in another city to relocate to. The whole routine feels just that, routine, as if they’ve had to do it several times before already, well-practiced in the art of just picking up their shit and disappearing. He’s told that the men from before who tried to arrest them will certainly be back, and sooner rather than later, but for now, he should be safe enough to pack his things up and resign. He makes them promise to stay out of his business while he sorts everything out, wondering just what the fuck he is supposed to do now.

 

It’s a rainy Tuesday morning, a slight mist lying lazily across the road and footpath, that sees Minseok returning to Cloud 9 for his final shift, shuffling from foot to foot as the chill from the moist air around him settles into his skin; he’s expecting to open up by himself, but Jongdae appears at his side with his own key clutched in his hand, arm already outstretched.

 

“Minseok?” He sounds incredulous, almost as though he hadn’t expected to see him again.

 

His answering smile is wan and stretched. “Jongdae,” he greets, swinging the door open with the key still in the lock, gesturing for the younger to enter the shop before him. “I’m only back for this last shift,”

 

Jongdae lets out a soft noise of discontent. “I didn’t believe the covering manager until now,” he admits, upset. “When Donghae said that you’d be leaving, I thought he was lying. For real. Why are you going?” he whines as he disables the beeping alarm while Minseok locks the door behind them, getting the lights on their way towards the door to the back office.

 

Minseok considers telling him there and then, just openly admitting that his life has just become a whole lot more dangerous because of six people that he’s just met - and the kicker is that he still doesn’t know how the fuck he even got brought into their crazy situation. Or how _they_ got into their crazy situation. He knows that he’d sound mental, that Jongdae would try and stop him.

 

It was Minseok and Baekhyun’s job to butter Jongdae up, anyway. Joonmyeon wanted the latter to come with them. He didn’t understand how Jongdae could just tear up his life without even knowing about, well, anything, but he figured that he’d let Baekhyun have his fun. Minseok had nothing to lose anyway, no commitments or family in the area. No significant other. Just a dead-end job, the likes of which he could find anywhere in the country. Maybe this was the impulsive decision that he needed to make so that he wouldn’t constantly be bored with his damn life.

 

“I wanted to talk to you about that,” he answers. “It’s a lot more complicated than it sounds, and I need someone else to help me explain it. Are you free after shift? We could get some food and… Meet up. With this person that is going to explain things.”

 

Jongdae raises a single eyebrow, ticking his name on the clocking in sheet just inside the door. “Hyung, are you sure that you’re okay? You’re being weird. I didn’t even know you had any friends other than Sehun and I, and that’s not even me being a little bitch, I promise you. You’re not in any trouble, are you?”

 

From anyone else, the words would be meant in the most innocent sense, said jokingly maybe. But Jongdae knew what Minseok was, so it gave the question a dark edge.

 

His hesitation must betray him, as the younger’s eyebrows all but disappear into his hairline.

 

“Fuck, hyung,” Jongdae breathes, dropping the pen into the older’s waiting palm so he can tick his name off the clocking in sheet. “Is it those guys who came in and caused a scene last week? That was the last time I saw you. I know we’ve been texting and you said you were okay, but…”

 

Minseok shakes his head, making his way into the manager’s office to dump his coat, bag and scarf onto the high-backed rolling chair sat proudly at the computer desk. “Really, I’m fine,” he manages to begin before Jongdae scoffs at him as he crouches on the floor in front of the safe, keying in the code so that he can get the till trays to put out for the day.

 

“There were times you fell off the face of the earth and didn’t answer me for _hours_ , hyung,” he reminds the older. “I was getting worried before, but now I’m feeling freaked out. They’re not a band of cannibalistic Satanists who’ve bribed you into their cult, right?”

 

Minseok lets out a smile, appreciating the attempt to make the mood a little lighter. “No, it’s nothing like that. Really, I’d feel a lot more comfortable if you could wait until five so that we can explain everything then.”

 

The two of them bustle back through the door and onto the shop floor, Minseok unlocking the empty tills so that Jongdae can deposit and declare the cash in the trays before they both start depositing chairs and stools at their corresponding tables.

 

“Am I at least allowed to ask why you’re not bringing Sehun?”

 

Minseok pauses. “Sehun doesn’t really have anything to do with the situation, so no,” he answers slowly.

 

Jongdae spins to fix him with a judging frown. “Don’t you think he has a right to know as well? Isn’t he your friend just as much as I am?”

 

“It’s kind of different Jongdae,” Minseok tries. “He’s not a hybrid, so there’s… A whole fucking hell of a lot that he wouldn’t understand. And also, I kind of don’t want to get him involved in this.”

 

“But you’re happy to drag me into it. I see.”

 

Sigh. “Kim Jongdae, it isn’t like that. Honestly, if you can hold your curiosity for nine more hours until we’re out of the shop, then you’ll know everything I know. Hell, maybe I can learn some things, too,”

 

“Okay, okay.” Jongdae grumbles as they set down the last of the chairs.

 

* * *

The next four hours pass uneventfully - they open the shop, greet their customers and serve drinks and food. It’s time for lunch and Minseok is about to let Sehun know that he’s in charge of the shop for an hour when he feels the itch of eyes on the back of his head. He turns to catch Baekhyun lounging against the serving counter, a lazy smile gracing his features. Minseok raises an eyebrow at him and Baekhyun just shrugs, mischief shining in his eyes. He’s about to make his way past Sehun to take the man’s order when Jongdae hip-bumps the youngest out of the way and flashes a small smile at Baekhyun.

 

“Hey, stranger,” he greets, voice friendly if not a little teasing; Minseok rolls his eyes. “Haven’t seen you around in a while. You know, after that whole thing where your friend dragged you out of the shop after you behaved more than a little weirdly and flirted with me shamelessly. What can I get you today?”

 

Baekhyun’s tongue darts out to swipe over his lips. “I’ll get a cappuccino, please,” he tries, risking a glance at Minseok. And the manager would have let him order it, too, if he hadn’t already seen what Baekhyun was like after consuming caffeine two days previously.

 

“Make that a decaf,” he adds on while Baekhyun whines, slumping over the counter. Jongdae’s eyes flicker between the two of them, sharp, alert, and Sehun snorts. Minseok shoots the youngest his best ‘shut-the-fuck-up’ look.

 

“Decaf cappuccino, got it,” Jongdae lilts, already moving towards the machinery, pouring milk into a metal jug and heating it up with the steam wand (Sehun throws him a decaf pod from underneath the counter while he rings the order up at the till). Baekhyun pays dutifully after Minseok refuses point blank to give him a discount, and there’s a quiet minute or two while Sehun moves onto the next customer, their Christmas temp (who had started a month or two too early to _really_ class as a legitimate Christmas temp) Johnny emerging from the back to take over from Minseok, who walks around the counter to nudge Baekhyun’s elbows off of the surface.

 

“I thought you were coming over at five?” he questions quietly. He’s acutely aware of Sehun watching them closely from the corner of his eye; Jongdae’s eyes flicker up from where the coffee is slowly tricking into an espresso cup to take a curious glance at them, too.

 

“Well, I was,” Baekhyun begins, turning his whole body so that he faces Minseok, taking in his navy apron with bright eyes, silver eyes falling forward and curling towards his eyelashes. “But then I remembered that you started at eight-thirty and should probably take a break sometime around about now. So I selflessly volunteered myself so that you wouldn’t have to be so lonely while you eat!”

 

“I’m not quite sure that’s one hundred percent what you’ve done,” Minseok tells him while untying his apron, patting down his pockets for his wallet and phone (both present, thankfully). “But okay, sure, I’ll bite.”

 

Baekhyun steps close and peels the fabric from his waist, long fingers delicately holding it out to Sehun, who takes it with a grimace, nose scrunching up. He seems unconcerned with the chill emanating from Minseok’s skin. “There’s a brilliant Japanese place around the corner, let’s go there. Your treat.”

 

“Um,” Jongdae interrupts, placing the coffee cup on the counter next to Baekhyun’s elbow. “I feel like I’m intruding, and I’m not even doing anything,” he complains. “I thought I was supposed to be the one you flirted with, anyway?” Baekhyun barks out a laugh, throwing his head back in pure mirth, silvery hair splaying across his forehead.

 

“Honey, you’ll learn soon that I’m very much an equal opportunities kind of person.” It’s directed at Jongdae with a saucy wink, but Minseok’s the one who gets hauled closer with a hand on his waist.

 

“Okay, and that’s enough of that, you clinger,” Minseok scolds, shaking off the younger. The warmth of his palm lingers for a few seconds. Minseok tells himself that it’s only because he’s so cold. “Let’s get to that restaurant already and get this over and done with.”

 

“See you later, Jongdae.” Baekhyun sings over his shoulder as they leave the store, Baekhyun happily sipping on his decaf cappuccino. “He’s really good at making coffee, even if you did ban me from drinking caffeine,” he comments as they make their way down the street, in the opposite direction that Minseok would usually go if he was taking lunch by himself.

 

“I trained him to make good coffee,” Minseok lets him know with an accompanying eye roll. “Also, Joonmyeon actually threatened to drown me in my sleep if I let you drink any, so that’s the main reason why…”

 

Baekhyun _whines_ , head lolling to the left so that it could fall safely onto Minseok’s shoulder. He really should’ve brought his coat with him, he muses with a shiver.

 

They make it to the tiny restaurant in no more than five minutes, and Minseok can understand how he never realised that it was there - it’s utterly minuscule, only wide enough for a small window and a narrow doorway, and although it goes back a way, there’s still only room enough for five tables. The serving hatch doubles as the till, and Baekhyun waves at the lady standing there before he leads the way to the window table.

 

“Ah, I’ll be sad to leave this place behind when we move,” he informs Minseok, a fond smile on his face as he takes another sip of the cappuccino that Jongdae had made. “It’s my favourite eating establishment in this entire city. Possibly my favourite, ever. Period.”

 

It’s cute how he doesn’t even need a menu to choose his food, suggesting dishes to Minseok with practiced ease, gesturing wildly with his hands, eyes bright and smile wide and somewhat rectangular wow, Minseok hadn’t noticed that before. It’s sort of a weird thing to figure out while in the middle of the man’s favourite restaurant on his lunch break, the day before his life falls to shit.

 

They settle on some simple soumen, sharing a platter of fried gyoza that Baekhyun hogs before Minseok flips him away with his chopsticks.

 

“So. Jongdae.” Baekhyun starts, a clump of rice noodles suspended in midair in his chopsticks, dripping broth into the bowl beneath it. “He’s a character, right? I guess you were right about him after all,”

 

Minseok, focused on his food (he had skipped breakfast that morning in order to catch the earlier train to Cloud 9), hums distractedly. “What do you mean?”

 

Baekhyun fidgets for a second, dipping his noodles into the broth again, the third time he has done so. “Well, the first day that you were at the house, you said that my ‘all-out’ approach worked well because we’re more similar than Joonmyeon thinks. He seems fun, that’s all.”

 

Minseok hums around a mouthful of chicken and cabbage. “It _is_ true, I guess. He’s got an outgoing personality. Maybe not quite as daring as you, or as loud or annoying, but similar enough that you’d get along, I can imagine. Well. Heh. I guess we’ll find out tonight, right?”

 

Baekhyun nods, suddenly quiet. “I guess so, yeah.”

 

They eat in silence for a few more minutes, the sounds of cooking emanating from the kitchen beyond the serving hatch the only sound in the entire restaurant.

 

“For what it’s worth,” Minseok ventures, not used to being the first one to speak, never mind how easy it’s been to feel somewhat comfortable around Baekhyun. “He was super curious this morning when we bumped into each other while we got the cafe ready for business.” Baekhyun looks up sharply, intrigued. He has a mouth full of gyoza and noodles, and Minseok really doesn’t want to see that shit all chewed up, so he holds up a hand before the younger has even had a chance to think about speaking. “He really wants to know what has been going on, honestly. He even had an inkling that it was to do with you guys. Which, before you say anything fucking stupid, is _completely_ obvious, seeing as that’s the last time any of them saw me - right after you guys walked in and all hell broke loose,”

 

Baekhyun dutifully swallows his mouthful of food. “Do you really think he’ll come back to the house after we’ve explained the basics to him?” He seems doubtful, and is probably right to be, Minseok thinks. Jongdae can be as much of a wildcard as Baekhyun can, sometimes.

 

“Maybe,” he admits. “If we go about it the right way. He gets really suspicious about hybrid stuff, sometimes.”

 

Baekhyun sits in rare silence for a few more minutes, the two of them enjoying the atmosphere of the little restaurant as they slowly work their way through their soup. It isn’t until they’re finished and paying that Baekhyun speaks up again.

 

“I know I’m always kind of flip,” he begins, voice low as they make their way down the road towards the cafe. “But I’m not stupid. I can do subtle if I need to, so you don’t have to worry about it being weird tonight, if that’s what you’re thinking about.”

 

Minseok cocks his head to the side as he considers the younger’s words. “I mean, I guess that I don’t have to worry about how Jongdae will react, anyway. He’s much more responsive to conversation than me; I feel like you two will fit right in together. And besides, we already spoke about what we’re going to be doing, right?” He feels like he has to ask, purely because with Baekhyun, a plan is never set in stone. “Because if we stick to that, we can get him to understand what’s going on, I feel.”

 

Baekhyun nods, rounding the corner and spotting the doorway to Cloud 9 a few metres ahead. “I can stick to the plan, don’t worry. I can do plans if they’re important ones.”

 

* * *

 

The rest of Minseok’s shift moves sluggishly, almost hellishly slowly, dragging by. Every glance at the clock is stressful. At half past four, Baekhyun shows back up, bag of snacks in hand and phone pressed to his ear. Minseok raises a hand from behind the counter in greeting and Baekhyun flashes him a wide, square grin, the picture of confidence, not at all insecure like he had been at lunchtime.

 

“Joonmyeon,” he mouths towards the older man, pointing to his phone with his spare hand. Then he rolls his eyes good-naturedly, showing that he isn’t really too against the phonecall after all. Joonmyeon is a worrier.

 

Jongdae flashes a curious glance over towards Baekhyun’s table, while Minseok gets a sweet tea ready.

 

“Are you two, like, dating or something?”

 

Minseok sputters, choking on air.

 

“I’ve known him for a week, Dae,” he mutters, disbelief colouring his tone. “I’d hope that you wouldn’t think I’d start dating somebody that I’ve only known for a week.” Jongdae shrugs impishly.

 

“He’s been here a lot today, and you went on lunch with him,” he reasons. “You’ve stopped hanging out with us after shift. What am I supposed to think, Min?”

 

Minseok rolls his eyes at Jongdae. “You’re supposed to know me better than to jump into something like that, you giant idiot.”

 

Jongdae throws back his head and laughs, high and strong; it distracts Baekhyun enough that he almost drops his phone as he looks over to the counter.

 

“Okay, buddy,” he brays. “I gotcha.”

 

The close-up of the shop is weird when there’s somebody else sitting there with them, watching them over the lip of his cup as he sips his tea. Jongdae waves him out of his chair as they go to stack them onto the top of the tables, Minseok wiping down the counter with a wet cloth and some bleach. Baekhyun wrinkles his nose at the smell. When they’re done, Minseok waves him over; he follows obediently like a puppy.

 

“Let’s go get some food!” he announces happily, attaching himself to Minseok’s side as they move towards the back of the cafe, opening the door to the office so that Minseok and Jongdae can grab their coats and bags.

 

“You just sat there and ate a bag full of chips and snacks,” Jongdae states, sending him a weird look from the corner of his eye, throwing on his coat. “How can you still be hungry?”

 

“Baekhyun is always hungry,” Minseok answers before Baekhyun can even open his mouth.

 

“Rule number one: always keep Baekhyun fed.” Baekhyun confirms.

 

Jongdae snorts, but says nothing else. They turn the lights off and set the alarm on their way out, and Minseok locks the door. The umbriferous potted plants that the owner of the apartment rooms above the cafe have put out sway in the winter-chilled air. Minseok hadn’t even noticed them that morning when they had opened up the cafe.

 

They let Baekhyun lead the way past the little Japanese place where they had eaten lunch, down onto the high street, down towards the row of much fancier restaurants; Minseok curses inwardly and hopes that Joonmyeon had provided Baekhyun with some cash, or his wallet will be crying by the end of the night. He gestures towards an Italian place, questioning them with his eyes, and Jongdae nods, so that’s where they eat.

 

They’re silent as the waitress seats them in a secluded booth near the windows and when she gives them the menu, Minseok thanks her quietly, politely.

 

“When are we getting to the part where you two explain what’s been going on for the last week and why Minseok has quit his job?” Jongdae asks suddenly, one eyebrow raised, tone flat and unwavering. Baekhyun leans towards him across the table.

 

“When are you going to tell me what type of power you have?” he shoots back. Minseok snorts and avoids eye contact with them both. Jongdae looks taken aback for all of three seconds before recovering in an admirably short amount of time.

 

“I think you probably already know, if you’ve been hanging around the cafe for as long as I think you have been,” he ventures, smiling warmly when he spots Baekhyun’s shock. “What, you thought that you guys were slick? Nope, maybe Minseok didn’t spot you, but I caught you guys always coming in. Sure, we have returning customers, regulars, even, but you guys were way too curious to just be regular customers. I knew you were either hybrids yourselves, or police. And there was that one time that your tall friend with the crazy ears warmed up your toasted sandwich for you with just his hands, so that answered my question for me.”

 

“So you’re… Much more observant than Minseok is, right, got it,” Baekhyun nods. “I mean, yeah, we’d been into Cloud 9 a lot before we actually spoke to you. Well, before _I_ spoke to you, anyway. The others are idiots.

 

“We felt your power levels during that massive thunderstorm about two months ago, honestly. Chanyeol and Joonmyeon were shocked to feel it so close, so we decided that we’d try and find out who it was, maybe this person could help us, maybe they needed help themselves. Well, Chanyeol and I kind of tracked the traces back to the cafe, and then we noticed they came from you a few weeks after that.”

 

Minseok sits back and lets Baekhyun explain, hands folded in his lap, watching the two leaning onto the surface of the table opposite each other.

 

“So you stalked me. Nice. And then you, what, kidnapped my boss?”

 

“Yep!”

 

“Baekhyun,” Minseok cuts in warningly; the younger flashes a toothy smile in his direction. He turns to Jongdae. “To start with, it was- okay, so maybe to begin with, it was a little bit of kidnapping. But it turned out that they possibly saved my life? So it was kidnapping for my own good?”

 

Jongdae stares. “How, in any sense of the word, can kidnapping be for your own good.”

 

“First of all, you forgot your question mark. Second of all, of course kidnapping can be in someone’s best interests! What if, for some reason, we were about to be arrested by the scariest and most corrupt team of assholes that the government can spare, and at the last second, we managed to save poor Minseok? Is that not for his wellbeing?”

 

“Um,” Jongdae answers. “Please tell me that didn’t actually happen. Because that sounds insane. Is that what actually happened?”

 

Minseok considers his words carefully and shoots a look across towards Baekhyun as if to tell him ‘shut-the-fuck-up-I’ll-answer-this-one’.

 

He is ultimately ignored. “Maybe?”

 

“You’re fucking insane!”

 

Before either Minseok or Baekhyun can respond to that, the waitress returns and takes their order (they decide on a traditional pizza between the three of them and some Cokes), cutting the discussion short for a few minutes.

 

“So. That’s basically why I’ve been missing in action for the last week, anyway. Some shit went down, we managed to get away, and then we decided it wasn’t safe for any of us to be seen outside of where we were staying. So I stayed with Baekhyun and his household of weirdos.”

 

“We’re not _that_ bad, Min,” Baekhyun puts in, ignoring the glare he is sent for the nickname. “The basics are these: my brothers and I currently have a safe house not far outside the city, we used to be under the charge of a certain part of the government and we managed to get out. They’ve been looking for us ever since, because each of us are more powerful than your average hybrid, but things have gotten so much worse since those idiot hybrids decided to stage the shittiest apocalypse that I’ve ever seen.”

 

“Well,” Jongdae concedes. “It _was_ pretty shitty. Did anything even happen after that first news report? Everyone was scared for nothing,”

 

“We weren’t invited to the party, it seems. The lack of organisation is shocking, honestly.”

 

“Alright, you two, time to put away the sarcasm now, I think,” Minseok tells them both. “Enough about the disappointing apocalypse. Can we get back on track, Baekhyun?”

 

The younger sits back into his seat and places his hands palm down onto the glossy tablecloth. “Yes, back to the matter at hand: why are we here discussing this with you, Jongdae?”

 

Jongdae chuckles. “I’ve been wondering that myself.”

 

“We’ve already established that you’re super powerful. I’ll drop the act and say right now that we all know about your fun with lightning. So, we’re on the same page. The first and last of it is that Joonmyeon, one of the hybrids I live with, has been telling us that we need to move away from where we are at the moment. And because we’re too nice for our own good, we’ve asked Minseok to come with us because he’s been seen now by the people that are after us, and his power is super useful. We would feel supremely uncomfortable with leaving you behind here on your own when we know now that they’ll be sweeping through the area. They’re not good people, Jongdae, they do awful things to hybrids. It wouldn’t be fair to leave you here without giving you a heads up and an invite to come with us.”

 

There’s a minute of silence that follows Baekhyun’s unusually sombre words, in which the pizza comes over along with their drinks.

 

“So you’re moving how far away, exactly?” Jongdae questions calmly.

 

Baekhyun shrugs. “Joon’s been doing some research and we think New York sounds like a good place - a fair amount of hybrids, no trouble that they’ve seen so far with said shitty apocalypse. It sounds like it would be perfect, at least for the time being - we could blend in completely if we play our cards right. So we should be moving over there within the next few days.”

 

“New-fucking-York?!” Jongdae exclaims. “Are you fucking joking? That’s hundreds of miles away! You just spoke about moving away as if you were going to be moving to the next town over, not the other side of the fucking country!”

 

“Don’t be dramatic-“

 

“Baek,” Minseok puts in. Seriously, he thinks, it was a great idea for him to sit in with thus meeting as a moderator, otherwise the two would have probably killed each other by now. They’re both way too excitable. Too alike.

 

“Okay, so maybe you are not being _too_ _dramatic_ , but we’ve still got some time to make some other last minute decisions and plans, so it’s not like you have to tell us right now. Just within the next two days. The place that we’ll be moving to will have more than enough room for you, anyway!”

 

“And what abut our families, our jobs, our friends?”

 

“That’s what I’m here for,” Baekhyun tells him with a feral grin. “Illusions are my specialty. I can help with getting us all into new jobs. And family can always contact you! We won’t be living in radio silence, you know. Just… Quietly?”

 

Jongdae slumps into his seat, sinking into the padded leather backrest, processing the offer. Baekhyun takes this opportunity to sneak a slice of pizza, pointing to the gap and jabbing a thumb towards Minseok. The command for him to eat is obvious, so he helps himself to a slice as well.

 

“So,” Jongdae begins. “You’re saying that you’ve got some bad guys after you so you’re moving away, but Minseok is going with you because they’ve seen him, and you want me to come too because they know I’m friends with hyung and you don’t want me to get caught by them either? And you’re moving in a few days’ time and you’ll be helping us to get new jobs and we can just start afresh in New York City.”

 

Baekhyun nods and grins around a mouthful of pizza; Minseok grimaces. “Basically, yeah!”

 

“That’s a shitty plan.”

 

“At least we’ve got a plan, dude, come on,” Baekhyun points out.

 

“Like Baekhyun said, you don’t have to answer us now,” Minseok butts in. “Just - think about it? Think it over. Get back to them within the next few days so they know how many are going.”

 

Jongdae nods, finally reaching out for a slice of pizza.

 

The rest of the meal flows by in near silence, Minseok asking a few questions about the cafe and how they’ve done while he was away, Baekhyun watching the two friends with growing interest, curiosity shining in his eyes. They decide to not order any dessert, finishing their drinks and splitting the check between the three of them, thankfully, though Minseok is more than a little surprised that Baekhyun actually did bring his own money (most likely from Joonmyeon, so he supposes that it doesn’t really count). They stand outside the front of the restaurant five minutes later, shivering in the frigid wind that greets them.

 

“I guess I’ll think about it,” Jongdae sighs, pulling the strap of his bag a little higher from where it slips from his shoulder. “And I’ll get in touch with Minseok hyung before you guys go.”

 

Baekhyun shrugs, tilting his head from side to side. “Okay, that sounds fair. If you do decide to not come, I guess I’ll say it was nice to finally meet you and talk to you properly.”

 

Jongdae accepts this and smiles politely at him. “Yeah, it was,” he replies with a polite smile. Baekhyun turns to Minseok, placing a warm hand on his forearm as he focuses his attention on the older.

 

“I’ll be at the bus stop,” is all he says and shoots a last smile at Jongdae before walking away. As soon as he is out of earshot, Jongdae turns to face Minseok.

 

“So, what was that about you and him not dating?” he asks, one eyebrow raised. “You seem to be on the same page.”

 

Minseok groans. “Will you shut up about that? We are _not_ dating! This is about our safety, Jesus fucking christ, Dae!”

 

“Well, I mean, that too,” he concedes. “But the thing is, I don’t understand how he’s managed to convince you of all people to just up and leave everything behind to move to New York City. It feels really weird, hyung, you have to understand - you just disappear one day, and when you come back, you quit your job and you’re getting ready to uproot your entire life and move away with some people that you’ve just met.”

 

Minseok thinks it’s crazy, too, but he doesn’t want to admit that out loud. It feels like if he did that, it would undermine all of his and Baekhyun’s efforts from the last few hours.

 

“I know it seems crazy,” he begins. “But Joonmyeon explained a lot to me while I was at their house. And I did nearly get arrested by crazy armed dudes that just ninja’d out of nowhere and followed us all. It was mental, a really crazy situation, but they helped me. They didn’t have to - they could’ve just left me there on the street with them. But Baekhyun threw himself onto Joonmyeon, and then they grabbed me and took me with them to safety. They didn’t even know I was a hybrid at the time, so for all they knew, I could’ve been one of those crazy, racist humans.”

 

Jongdae tips his head to one side, the action reminding him of Baekhyun (the two really are more alike than he had originally thought), as he thinks it through.

 

“And then you appeared in a house full of hybrids, whose intentions you don’t know and they weave you this story about escaping from oppressive governmental sects and being hunted down like wild animals, and you just… Believe them? You trust them?”

 

“It’s not like I haven’t thought about all this, Jongdae, don’t take me the wrong way.” Minseok speaks slowly, thinking his words through carefully before he says them. “I’ve thought about it more than I’ve thought about anything else. But there’s a lot of truth to what they say, honestly, and when you meet them, you’ll understand.”

 

There’s a deep sigh. “Well, I suppose I should look forward to seeing them a lot more at the cafe, right?” Minseok hums and Jongdae sighs again, lapsing into silence. Then he squints his eyes at Baekhyun, standing by himself in the bus stop a little down the road from them, arms wrapped protectively around himself in an attempt to keep himself warm against the freezing fog that’s descending around them. Minseok can feel the ice in his veins rising to the surface of his skin, hair standing on end, goosebumps forming. Too cold.

 

“So you’re going home with him?”

 

Minseok shakes his head, letting out a breath that shows up stark against the darkness that is surrounding them. “He’s coming to mine. We’re getting started on some packing, and putting my apartment up for letting again. Then, in the morning, we’ll probably swing by for some coffee and get some more things organised with Joonmyeon.”

 

Jongdae places his hands on top of Minseok’s shoulders, palms so warm even through the fluffy down coat. “Just be careful, hyung. Okay? And call me if you need anything - I’m only doing a half day tomorrow.”

 

Minseok nods solemnly, patting Jongdae’s waist with a cold hand.

 

They bid each other a goodnight and Minseok joins Baekhyun at the bus stop. The whole journey home, he wonders whether he’s made the right decision after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Life is great. My tags are great. This is gonna be a bumpy ride, friends, buckle in. Shit is about to go down. Well, not just yet, but in a future chapter, sure. It's been so long since I've written some action *cracks knuckles* I can't wait to get stuck in hehe. All the love, much love!
> 
> FYI, the next chapter is about to get SUPER wordy. Like, SUPER MEGA WORDY. About 6k of pure wordage. It's gonna be great, I tell you.
> 
> \- Lau


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